Doing his best to put the recent Van Halen minidrama behind him, Sammy Hagar has returned to the studio to record his first solo album since his ousting from the supergroup. Forced out of the band after its much-publicized reinstatement of ex-front man David Lee Roth, himself since replaced (see Eddie Van Halen interview, page 48), Hagar seems elated with his newfound freedom.

"I've never tried to make a record that was exactly what I wanted to do, that felt as mature as I was. I've never felt I could. It was more like, 'This is what's going on today, this is what the kids are listening to.' Even in Van Halen. Well, I've grown up real fast over the last year."

"I was a blues singer. I was an R&B singer in a horn band, way before any of the metal. My roots are so different than what my image has been through my career. People are going to freak out when they hear this record."

Hagar seems well into something of a psychedelic and spiritual renaissance, an inner calm he credits to Hart. "Me and Mickey have become great friends over the last year," he said. "He's the most intelligent musician I've ever known. His inspiration has put me in touch with myself again, with music again. Were doing the weirdest concept song you've ever heard in your life, called 'Marching to Mars.' "

Explaining the album's working title, "Kama," Hagar offers further evidence of just how far behind him the Van Halen arena rock mind-set might be.

"It means 'love' in Sanskrit. Being the original written language, Sanskrit is the most powerful language there is. I wanted to find a new way to say 'love,' my favorite word."

Hagar's elevated state might explain his prolific songwriting. He's finished 14 tracks and has another 14 ready to be laid down. Hoping for an April release, Hagar says he's negotiating with the Mercury, Virgin and Hollywood labels, though finances hardly seem paramount.

"I want the label I sign with to understand that this is not business, this is me. This is my heart and soul," Hagar said. "I want to be marketed properly. I don't want my true fans taken advantage of."

Hagar says unapologetically that he will continue to do Van Halen songs live. "That's part of my history. I have every right to do so. If people think the band's all Eddie, they're crazy. When they hear the music without me, they'll know. I feel very sorry for Gary Cherone (ex-Extreme vocalist recently hired by Van Halen). I don't think he'll feel very comfortable standing onstage singing 'Right Now' or 'Can't Stop Loving You.' Those are Sammy Hagar songs and they will always be."

RAPPERS THE BRAIDS GET A BIG BREAK

The Oakland-based rap duo the Braids has scored an unlikely chart hit with a remake of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." Best known for their work with the East Bay funk act the Mo'Fessionals, Zok Ellis, 26, and Caitlin Cornwell, 27, were originally approached by producer Steve Jenkins (Third Eye Blind) to lay down the vocals for the demo version of the song. It was then to be shopped around to a more established artist for inclusion on the recently released "High School High" soundtrack.

But Jenkins was so impressed by the Braids' performance he not only placed it on the soundtrack, but used it as a calling card in scoring the Braids their own contract with the soundtrack's distributor, Big Beat/Atlantic.

No one was more surprised by this turn of events than the two singers, who were still working their day jobs at a landscaping company at the time. "A week later we were flown to New York to shoot a video and do a photo session," Cornwell said. "I literally had grass on my shoe."

The Braids' version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" is currently climbing Billboard's Top 40. The two plan to enter the studio with Jenkins in November to start working on their full- length debut, which is slated for February release.

"Caitlin and I have been friends for a very long time and that's the No. 1 reason this is going to succeed," Ellis said.

MUCH, MUCH MORE FROM THE GRATEFUL DEAD

The Grateful Dead just won't go away quietly. This month more than eight hours of live recordings hit the stores in three packages, a home video of yet another vintage Dead concert surfaced and a stunning new set of Jerry Garcia recordings with his longtime accomplice, mandolinist David Grisman, came out.

The Garcia-Grisman package, to be released Tuesday on Grisman's Acoustic Disc imprint, is a traditional acoustic music program featuring Garcia and Grisman working out on a variety of country blues and bluegrass standards. Their third CD together, it is said to contain some of the finest playing Garcia recorded during the final years of his life.

The Dead sets include a three- disc package, "Dick's Picks Vol. 6," from Hartford, Conn., in 1983, featuring an epic half-hour version of "Scarlet Begonias." It's available only through mail order from Grateful Dead Merchandising for $18.50. Meanwhile, the Dead's last label has compiled a two-disc set, "The Arista Years," that collects tracks the band cut for Arista Records beginning in 1977. Also coming out from the Dead's vaults via Arista next week is "Dozin' at the Knick," a three-CD set drawn from three nights in 1990 at Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, N.Y. The 145-minute video, "Ticket to New Year's," captures the Dead performing in 1987 at the Oakland Coliseum.

If that wasn't enough, "The Art of the Dead," a fairly definitive exhibition of poster art associated with the band, will inaugurate the Artrock Gallery, next door to the rock poster retailer's 1153 Mission Street headquarters, on November 14.

The show runs through January and then leaves on a 30-city tour that includes a stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Longtime Dead publicist Dennis McNally warmed up for his long planned book on the band by contributing the text to the show's 32-page catalog.